On Monday morning (26 August, 9:23 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), indices in Asia Pacific traded mixed following escalated tensions in the Middle East and dovish remarks made by the U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on rate cuts, saying that the timing and speed of interest rate reductions will be determined by incoming data, the developing economic forecast, and the risk balance.
Meanwhile, investors also monitored the medium-term lending rates from China, and Singapore’s manufacturing figures for July.
Japan’s NIKKEI dropped by 1.05% to 37,962.96. South Korea’s KOSPI dipped by 0.03% to 2,700.94, while Australia’s ASX 200 grew by 0.59% to 8,070.9.
As for stocks in China, Hong Kong’s HSI jumped by 1.18% to 17,820.39. Shenzhen’s SZI climbed by 0.22% to 8,200.3, while Shanghai’s SSEC slid by 0.06% to 2,852.59.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged up on Friday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) surged by 1.14% to 41,175.08. NASDAQ soared by 1.47% to 17,877.79, and S&P 500 gained 1.15% to 5,634.61. VIX plummeted by 9.63% to 15.86.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Friday following statements from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, gearing up to reduce interest rates. Brent futures increased $1.80 or 2.33% to settle at $79.02 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose $1.82 or 2.49% to settle at $74.83 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures grew 52 cents or 0.66% to $79.54 a barrel, and the WTI gained 55 cents or 0.73% to $75.38 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures climbed by 0.13% to $2,549.7 per Troy ounce.
